Faces & Forums

Wine in the Wild West

Palisade, Colo. -- The 2009 Colorado Mountain Winefest kicked off Sept. 17, marking the first annual event since Sarah Catlin took over as executive director.

“The way I see it, half of my job is putting on a successful event, and the other half is to sell Colorado wine,” she said.

Winefest, which raises money for the Colorado Association of Vintners and Enologists, featured wines from more than 50 Colorado wineries, and packed in four full days of events, starting with a golf scramble (new this year), an opening night wine reception and culminating with the Tour of Wineries tented grand tasting.

In between, consumers and members of the trade had the opportunity to attend seminars such as “Resetting Your Taste Buds,” featuring Colorado State University enologist Steve Menke, and a tasting event with Maximilian Riedel, 11th generation glassmaker.